National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

April 27, 2018

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(Camden, NJ) – Just because something is prescribed, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Every day, 46 people die from overdoses involving prescription drugs. That’s why Saturday, April 28, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a day when Americans are asked to properly dispose of any unused medication they have around their homes.

National Drug Take Back Day happens twice a year, and on the last National Drug Take Back Day, Americans collected a record-breaking 900,000 pounds of prescription drugs, according to the federal government.

“Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of heroin users started out misusing prescription drugs like the ones lying around homes across the country,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “The Freeholder Board’s Addiction Awareness Task Force has 20 drop box locations across the county where you can safely dispose of unused and expired prescription drugs. In the midst of an opioid crisis, it is crucial that we take every precaution to protect our friends and families from developing a deadly addiction.”

The Camden County Freeholder Board’s Addiction Awareness Task Force aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs. No longer needed or outdated prescription drugs in homes are the same drugs that have unfortunately become the target of theft and misuse, oftentimes by people who have access to the residence. America’s 12-to 17-year-olds have made prescription drugs the number one substance of abuse for their age group, and much of that supply is coming from the medicine cabinets of their parents, grandparents, and friends. Everyone can help end medicine abuse by disposing of unneeded prescription drugs at a drug drop box near you.

The Addiction Awareness Task Force currently has drop-off boxes where you can dispose of unused prescription drugs at the following locations:

“The only effective way to safely dispose of unused medication is by utilizing drop-boxes like those provided by the Addiction Awareness Task Force,” Cappelli said. “Flushing pills down toilets can put prescriptions into your neighbors’ drinking water, and throwing pills in the trash leaves them easily accessible to children, teens, and other adults who will use them inappropriately. To be sure that you have properly protected your family and neighbors, you should find and use the nearest drop-box location.”

For more information on the Camden County Board of Freeholders’ Addiction Awareness Task Force, or for the full list of drop-box locations, visit addictions.camdencounty.com.

For more information on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, or to find more addiction-related research and assistance, visit https://takebackday.dea.gov/.